A TRIP INTO LA PAZ

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Theobalds and they bused to San Jose del Cabo to overnight then catch a flight home on Friday. 

We caught a later shuttle into La Paz with the Northern Ranger crew and enjoyed lunch and a little sightseeing.

 

La Paz is still recovering from Hurricane Odile which hit here a year ago in the fall.  There are a number of  shops  closed, and some buildings still have broken windows, but it clearly is an artsy community, with beautiful wall murals and sculptures along the MALECON …. A beautiful seawall walk that connects the town of La Paz right up to Costa Baja Resort !

 

A pearl sculpture on the malecon .....

 

Wyland mural .....

 

 

They are very into skulls ......

 

 

 

Beautiful imprint and mosaic sidewalks ....

 

 

Another interesting wall mural ....

 

 

Beautiful stone wall with fish "window" ....

 

 

Beautiful old doorway with calla lily tiles ....

 

 

Old church in the center of town ....

 

 

 

Cam and Penny inside the church ....

 

 

We were in La Paz for the US Thanksgiving and Steinbeck's Restaurant at the resort put on a beautiful turkey dinner for us ..... on the deck overlooking the Inner Harbor, at sunset ....

stunning .....

 

 

 

Inner Harbor .....

 

 

Another gorgeous sunset ....

 

 

On the way back to our boat (Outer Harbor), we noticed some of the boats with their swim grid lights on attracting fish ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARRIVING IN COSTA BAJA, LA PAZ .....

YES … the excitement does finally come to an end …. And we arrived at Costa Baja,  La Paz to the friendly faces of our neighbor in the marina, fellow CUBAR traveller, ANOTHER Canadian of our group AND another Talbott (no relation to NR’s Talbots) ….  Tim and Michelle on their gorgeous Nordhavn 63 PIREDMUS.  They helped us tie up and left us to settle in.

 

Arriving at Costa Baja harbor .....

 

FIRST order of business was to crack open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the completion of this phase of our trip …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE MADE IT !!!! 

 

The WORK  is now done.  (And it has been WORK getting the boat to this point.)   

1400 nm from Vancouver to San Diego….

900 nm from San Diego to La Paz …..

2300 nm in total ….

And we couldn’t have done it without the help of our various CREWS … MANY thanks to all.

 

The CUBAR organizers had a BYOB welcome cocktail party later in the afternoon and we watched the sun set by one of the resort’s BEAUTIFUL pools. 
 

 

Beautiful infinity pool ... beautiful sunset ....

 

 

 

Martin (Enterprise lll ) and Cam

 

Enjoying the pool ... and the cool banana leaf chairs .....

 

 

Cam and "the girls" ....

 It was a GORGEOUS evening with a group of us finally heading off to one of the many restaurants for dinner. 
ITALLIAN ! .... (the restaurants at the resort are fabulous !!)

And we thought the OTHER night was the trip from hell .....

It was to be a 10 hour run to Bahai de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead) …. and as the sun peeked over the horizon at 6am, we pulled out of the marina to what we were expecting to be a lovely run. 

 

 

Northern Ranger leaving Puerto Los Cabos .....

 

 

Fishing pangas at the entrance to the harbor .....

 

 

 

A STUNNING sunrise ......

 

What we experienced however, were  +1 meter waves at 5 seconds apart … on the nose …. Making for a VERY rough 10 hour ride. 

 

 

DUET burying its bow .....

 

 

Sea Level taking on a little spray !! 

NOT quite the ride we were expecting ....

 

Cameron was sick …

Our crew was feeling “off” (although they did not get sick)…

 I stayed up top on the flybridge and the breeze kept any nausea at bay.  

It was going to be a very loooong 10 hours …..

And then all hell broke loose ....

We had started the day with a very low reserve of water – less than ¼ of a 600 gal tank …. (MUCH lower than we usually have …. thankfully) and we were running the watermaker to bring our water level UP.

At one point Ed's eagle eyes noticed our water tank level was quickly .... going DOWN?!?!

The watertank was EMPTYING …

somewhere …..

The system was immediately turned off …..

A hasty run around the boat checking bilges, bathrooms, the “basement” etc ….

Cam was headed downstairs to the engine room and stepped in 3-4” of water sloshing around the laundry area. 

OK !!  WE FOUND THE WATER !! 

Now we just needed to find where the problem originated ….

Ed and I bailed all the water out of the laundry area while Christine drove the boat ….

…. and Cam threw up. 

It was a testy time. 

We finally arrived at Muertos feeling ABSOLUTELY WHIPPED .... and with NO water  L  

Some sleuthing led Cam and Ed to discover a blown hose connection on one of the fresh water hoses so thankfully it was an easy fix.  A reconnection and we were good to go …..

AND … now with the laundry room floor VERY clean, we were back on track leaving the watermaker to run all night to replenish our water supply !!! 

Ed whipped up an omelet for those of us feeling like eating …. Half comatosed, we watched Jumanji and retired early as everyone was EXHAUSTED !!!  NO swimming as we had NO rinse water … and we were too tired anyways ….

( But the water was absolutely beautiful….  80’ and clear, aquamarine blue. )

Are we having fun yet ???

 

Pulling out of Muertos Cove into Cerralvo Channel puts us officially into THE SEA OF CORTEZ .....

 

I am happy to report that the trip from Bahai de los Muertos to Costa Baja (La Paz) was GORGEOUS ….. glassy conditions… balmy breezes …. NO water leaks …. NO serious disasters …. OH ! Except for the overheated wing engine which blew coolant ALL OVER the engine room ….

(OMG …. Does this ever end ?!?!) 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO CHRISTINE AND ED !!!

 

I have lost track of the days and meant to post this in a more timely manner ……

On November 18^th, Christine and Ed celebrated their 43^rd anniversary!!!!   

43 years of a very special love between two special people !!!  They are still very much in love and always respectful and thoughtful of each other … clearly the secret to a long and happy marriage!  

Happy Anniversary to them both ... so happy to be celebrating with you guys !!

Last few days in Puerto Los Cabos .....

We were so enchanted with Flora Farm that Christine and I went back the next day to see it in the daylight and to have lunch…. And do a little shopping at the gift shop !!  It is an amazing place with numerous outbuildings, a bakery,  shops, a little veggie market, a great wine bar, a cooking school and an amazing restaurant !!  GREAT FUN !!

 

 

Adorable sitting area ... one of MANY ....

 

 

Flora Farm Wine Bar

 

 

Handmade covers for hay bales which are used as seating .....

 

 

Cool lanterns .... cooling mist around seating area .....

 

 

The sunflowers at the farm ....

 

Puerto Los Cabos Marina has a Beach Club associated with it and we walked over to spend the afternoon sitting under beach umbrellas, drinking mojitios and snorkling with the little colorful fish along the breakwater. 

 

 

BO DEREK ?!?!

 

 

Cameron back from snorkeling ....

 

Then it was off to Don Sanchez Restaurant, in town.  We had a BIG group (16 of us !) and a fantastic dinner … outdoors, under beautiful twinkle lights !  GORGEOUS spot and dinner was amazing, as was the live entertainment …. A woman playing violin …. She was fabulous !!!

 

 

Violinist on stage ....

 

 

 

Lawrence, Penny, Denis and Ken

 

 

Val and Bill

 

Nancy, Edward and Christine

 

 

Ken, Christy and Ron

 

 

Christopher makes a toast .....

 

 

A BEAUTIFUL chandelier at Don Sanchez Restaurant .....

 

a fabulous meal with great friends and a truly a magical evening .....

 

 

 

Trip from HELL .....

One might think that after a 66 hour run, a "short" 24 hour run with the day starting out beautiful and calm, would be a piece of cake.  NOT so much…. 

The morning was quiet as we all got underway from Mag Bay, heading to San Jose del Cabo.  Christine made muffins and we were chugging along enjoying the beautiful day.  Many of the boats were fishing …. And with great success.  Tuna, dorado and even marlin were being caught.

 Just after dinner, the winds originating from storms in the Sea of Cortez, came over the Baja from the La Paz area and slammed the Pacific coast making for a VERY uncomfortable ride through the night.  The fleet arrived in San Jose del Cabo in the morning, feeling a little worse for wear.  (I faired the worst of our crew as I was “sicker than a dog” …..)  All agreed ... NOT A LOT OF FUN !!

The shoreline along the southern end of the Baja from Cabo San Lucas to SJDC is lined with huge resorts and interesting developments tucked into the hillside.  Seeing it from the water gives a unique perspective. 

 

 

 

Some of the resorts are MASSIVE .....

 

 

The famous rock arch at Cabo San Lucas ....

 

We arrived at the beautiful Puerto Los Cabos marina, and after a shower and a rest (and a cleaning of our very salt encrusted boat) we began to feel much more human.  Check in at the marina office was again very smooth thanks to a very organized staff at Puerto Los Cabos. 

The marina is beautiful, with original sculptures scattered around the grounds and along the seawall walk.

 

 

 

The cross is lit up at night with beautiful multi colored lights .....

 

 

 

The marina hosted a BEAUTIFUL “dinner under the stars” the evening of our arrival, complete with entertainment …. A jet boot demonstration and a dolphin show from their Dolphin Education program and live entertainment during dinner.  It was a fabulous dinner and a memorable evening.
 

 

The next day Cam and I went for a walk around the harbor and checked out the nearby hotel at the entrance to the marina harbor – the BEAUTIFUL Hotel El Ganzo with its spectacular sweeping views of the ocean, gorgeous infinity pool with swim up bar and beautiful grounds. 

 

 

 

After breakfast the crew of SL took a “taxi ride” into town for a little retail therapy !!  We ended up catching a ride with one of the dock workers, who offered to take Cam to the marine store in town for some parts … after a stop at the Pemex (gas station) ( … oh ! …. And btw, did we have some pesos for gas ?!?! )
Like we didn’t see THAT coming !!! ….. We got a chuckle over that none too subtle ploy !!  So Ed topped him up and we carried on into Old Town. 

 

Delicious lunch at a street side cafe ....

Flora’s Farm is an AMAZING local, “farm to table” restaurant which came HIGHLY recommended and we (crews of Sea Level and Northern Ranger) managed to get a reservation at for the evening.  It is a magical place with outside seating, twinkle lights strung throughout the grounds , beautiful globe lights hanging from the trees and a fabulous menu of their own farm grown produce.  
 MAGICAL ....

 

SO interesting, that Christine and I plan to return during the day to check it out further .....